Cigarettes black market in Romania fell by 13 percent earlier this year

Cigarettes black market fell by 13 percent in January this year, registering a significant decrease over the same period of the last year, when smuggling of cigarettes reached a historic high of 36.2 percent (due to massive increases of excise duty on cigarettes), according to market research company Novel.

Representatives of the cigarettes manufacturers claim that reducing cigarette smuggling was a consequence of the efforts of the authorities, legislative changes and collaboration between governments and tobacco manufacturers. Cigarette market, estimated at EUR 2 billion, is the business of three world-class companies - British American Tobacco, Philip Morris and JTI - which controls the largest segment of consumer goods(FMCG).